Dispensing apparatus for spring retaining rings



June 4, 1963 H. ERDMANN 3,092,287

DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR SPRING RETAINING RINGS Filed July 12, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet l June 4, 1963 H. ERDMANN 3,092,237

DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR SPRING RETAINING RINGS Filed July 12, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY HANS ERDMANN June 4, 1963 H. ERDMANN 3,092,287

DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR SPRING RETAINING RINGS Filed July 12, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Tb I F/G. l0

INVENTOR /30 HANS ERDMANN l3/ ATTORNEY H. ERDMANN June 4, 1963 DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR SPRING RETAINING RINGS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 12, 1960 lillillk FIG.

INVENTOR HANS ERDMANN ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,092,287 DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR SPRING RETAINING RINGS Hans Erdmann, Maplewood, NJ., assignor to Waldes Kohinoor, Inc., Long Island City, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed July 12, 1960, Ser. No. 43,270 14 Claims. (Cl. 221-189) This invention relates to improvements in dispensing apparatus for spring retaining rings and more particularly in dispensers for dispensing split or openended spring retaining rings of the type adapted, when spring-seated in the groove of a cylindrical workpiece or carrying member, to provide an artificial locating shoulder thereon; and further in dispenser-tool combinations employing the improved dispenser as herein contemplated. The present application is a continuation-in-part of my prior application Serial No. 835,276, filed August 21, 1959 (now abandoned).

As is well known, split spring retaining rings are now used extensively in all branches of industry, and thus it is a practical necessity to provide dispensers which mount a.readily available supply of the rings in readiness to be dispensed, from which they can be withdrawn one by one as needed. Usually, the dispenser mounts its supply of retaining rings in vertical column formation on a vertically disposed stack rod and with the lowermost ring of the stack being free of said stack rod for withdrawal by a tool of a type adapted to grip said lowermost ring about its outer edge with the requisite force as to free it from the next higher ring and the weight of all of the rings above the latter. conventionally, such a tool may also be employed in subsequently handling and assembling the withdrawn ring on its grooved shaft, the latter as by positioning the tool in the plane of its groove and pushing the ring over the shaft directly into the groove.

However, there are numerous ring applications and required modes of ring assembly which make the use of other forms of ring withdrawing and assembling tools desirable, if not necessary. For example, if a particular ring application requires that the ring must be assembled by spreading it over the end of its shaft and shifting it axially therealong to the plane of its groove, the well known pliers-type tool is employed for the assembly operation, since such a tool is provided with working points which are adapted to be inserted into the apertures provided in the ends of the ring for this purpose, and hence it is capable of picking up and holding, and thereupon spreading, said ring over the end of the shaft on which its assembly is to be effected. A more modern type of pliers tool capable of being used for this purpose is that shown in my pending application Serial No. 817,668, filed June 2, 1959, now Patent No. 3,015,882, dated January 9, 1962, wherein the working ends of the tool, rather than being formed with tips as heretofore, are instead formed as a push head and a spreading head, respectively, the push head responsive to closing of the tool arms being adapted to push a ring positioned between said heads axially along the spreading head and, in so doing, to spread it the diameter 'of and thence over the end of the shaft on which the ring is to be assembled.

However, use of these plier-type tools to efiect withdrawal of the lowermost ring of a vertical column of such rings maintained on a dispenser stack rod has not been possible heretofore with existing ring dispensers. Such follows from the fact that existing ring dispensers fail to make adequate provision for clearance of the plurality of rings of the column which are disposed just above the lowermost ring thereof (which as a matter of practical necessity is always the ring which is dispensed) during the ice course of each ring withdrawal operation, as is necessary for the plier-head or the working points of a pliers-type tool moving into proper position with respect thereto as enables said tool to pick up said lowermost ring preliminary to its withdrawal. Thus, there exists in the particu- 'lar art the need for a retaining ring dispenser of the type which maintains its supply of rings in a vertical stack or column, and which at the same time is designed to make the lowermost ring of the stack accessible to a pliers-type tool whose ability to withdraw the lowermost ring of the column depends in the first instance on its ability to move against said lowermost ring from a face side thereof, rather than on its ability to grip the ring along its outer edge.

Stated broadly, an object of the invention is the provision of a vertical stack rod form of dispenser capable of satisfying this need and which is accordingly characterized by a construction which is adapted to make the lowermost ring of a vertical column thereof accessible to a pliers-type ring withdrawing and assembly tool, thereby enabling said tool to pick up said lowermost ring and remove it from the dispenser for its subsequent assembly on a cylindrical shaft or similar workpiece.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a dispenser incorporating positive means for making the lowermost ring of the stack thereof accessible to a pliers-type withdrawing and assembly tool as aforesaid, which means is so constructed and arranged as to be operable by the tool itself responsively to its movement toward the dispenser to ring pick-up position.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a dispenser of the character described, wherein the ringaccessibility feature is made possible by the use of a stack rod which can be bodily moved from its normal or active position to an inactive position in which it presents the lowermost ring of the ring stack to the action of the pliers-type withdrawing tool, IGSPODSlVClY to movement of said tool to its ring pick-up position.

A more particular object of .the invention is the provision of a retaining-ring dispenser as last described, wherein the return movement of the stack rod from its inactive to its normal position is utilized to condition the dispenser for the next ring-withdrawing operation.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of alternate practical embodiments of retaining ring dis pensers operating on the basic principle of the present invention as explained above, and which at the same time are sufiiciently flexible as to be actuable by any of the 'various pliers-type ring withdrawing tools which are adapted to grip a ring to be withdrawn by movement of a tool part against a face of the ring, rather than by gripping the ring along its outer edge.

The above and other objects and features of advantage of the invention will, it is believed, be clear from the following detailed description thereof, in which reference 'is made to the accompanying drawings illustrating various forms which the herein proposed dispenser may take, in

which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one form of movable stack-rod dispenser according to the present invention shown in the process of being operated by a pliers-type ring withdrawing and applying tool of the type disclosed illustrate the ability of the dispenser therein shown of being operated by the more conventional pliers-type retaining ring assembly tool having Working points adapted to be inserted into the aperture of the end ears or lugs in which the open ends of spring retaining rings are usually formed; e

FIGS. 8-10 inclusive illustrate another form of movable stack-rod type of retaining ring dispenser according to the present invention, of which FIG. 8 is a side elevation thereof, partly in section;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view thereof; and

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 8 but illustrating the dispenser being operated by a more advanced'design of pliers-type withdrawing and applying tool as disclosed and claimed in my application Serial No. 19,207, filed April 1, 1960, now Patent No. 3,073,014, dated January 15, 1963; and

FIGS. 11- 13 illustrateyet another form of movable stack-rod type of retaining ring dispenser according to the invention, of which FIG. 11 is a side elevation there- .of, partly in section;

FIG. 12 is a section taken along line 12-12 thereof; and

FIG. 13 is a view similar to 1 16.11 but illustrating the dispenser being operated by a hand tool similar to that shown in FIG. 10.1

Referring to the drawings in details, FIGS. 1-6 inclusive illustrate a form of dispenser according to the invention which maintains its supply of retaining rings in vertical column formation and is designed to make the lowermost ring thereof accessible to a withdrawal (and assembly) tool of the type adapted to engage said lowermost ring responsive to its movement against a facethereof, i.e. its topface, by bodily movement of the stack rod and all rings thereon to an out-of-the-way position relative to said lowermost ring. Illustratively, such a dispenser comprises a block-form base 10 having an elevated forward portion whose top surface is horizontally disposed. Pivotally secured to said base so as to swing in a horizontal arc across its said top face, as by a pivot pin 12, is a twoarm lever 13. To the forward arm 13a of said lever which normally extends along the front of the base 10 is fastened, as by rivets 14, 14a, an upright right-angled bracket 15 whose rearwardly disposed flange is formed thin as at 16 and extends as a rearwardly disposed, blade-like part 17 to which a vertical stack rod 18 is afiixed. Such a stackrod is preferably formed of two cylindrical halfsections 18a, 18b of stiff material such asmetalgwhich are secured flush against the side faces of the said bladelike part 17, as by pins or rivets 19a, 19b, and thus the stack rod is of rigid construction throughout. The stack rod terminates at its lower end just above the top surface of the base so as to be freely movable thereover.

As best seenin FIGS. 2 and 6, the other lever arm 13b, which is disposed at a right angle to the aforesaid lever arm 13a, extends rearwardly over the horizontal top face of the base 10. The lever 13 as a whole, and hence the stack rod 18 carried by the latter, are maintained in the normalor operative position by means of a spring 20: connected to and extending between the rearward end of the lever arm 16b and a fixed stud 21 or other fixed .point on-the baselfl. The normal position of the lever and stack rod is determined by a stop bolt 22 whose axial position maybe adjusted by a thumb screw 23, such funcsponsive to swing movement in clockwise direction imparted to said lever :13.

Sunk into the top surface of the base 10 at a location thereon which directly underlies the stack rod 18 is a shallow ring recess or pocket 24 of depth corresponding to the axialthickness of one of therings to be dispensed and beingconfigured along its edges to accurately comspeaasva 4 plement the outline of a ring being dispensed turned so that its gap faces forwardly. The arrangement so far described is thus one in which the stack rod normally positions the lowermost ring of the stack thereof which if carries in the so-called'withdrawal readiness position in the pocket 24, but it is free bodily to move or retract relatively rearwardly therefrom, thus to move all of the rings of the stack, except the said lowermost ring, rearwardly away from said pocket, and thereupon to partake of return movement to its aforesaid normal position.

As best seen in FIG. 3 and 5, the dispenser base 10' is formed in its front face with a large-diameter cut-out 26 which teminates at its upper endshort of the ring pocket 24, but is connected thereto by an opening 27 having substantially less diameter than that of said pocket. Thus, the ring pocket 24 is separated from the cut-out 26 by an apertured wall which defines the bottom of the ring pocket, but it is accessible from below through said opening 27 so that a ring becoming stuck in the pocket may be readily dislodged from same.

As forecast above, the dispenser according to'FIGS. 'l6 is particularly suited to be operated by a pliers-type retaining ring assembly tool according to my aforesaid Patent No. 3,015,882. Such a tool, which is generally designated T, FIG. 1, comprises two pivotally interconnected arms 30, '31 extending forwardly from a handle member 32. The arm 30, which is normally the upwardly disposed arm, mounts at its forward or working end a so-called ring push-head 33, and the companion arm 31, which is normally the lower arm, mounts at its forward or working end a frusto-conical spreading head 34, the smaller-diameter end of which preferably hasa diameter slightly less than the free or unstressed inner-edge diameter of the rings being assembled, and whose larger-diam-' eter end has a somewhat greater diameter which .corresponds substantially to that of the shaft on which ring assembly is to be effected.

As explained in my aforesaid application, such a tool is adapted to pick up a ring to be assembled from a horizontal supporting surface by inverting the tool so that the smaller-diameter end .of the spreading head 34 is downwardly disposed, and thereupon, with arms spread, moving said head downwardly on to the ring to be assembled so that said smaller-diameter end moves into the opening of the ring. Then, by exerting slight downward pressure of the spreading head 34 against the ring, the latter frictionally grips itself to said small-diameter end of the spreading head. Thereupon, responsive to movement of the tool arms towards one another, the ring pushhead 33 actuates the so held ring axially along the spreading head, which movement effects its spreading to the diameter. of the shaft or workpiece on which it is to be assembled.

Assuming the stack rod 18 and its supply of rings R of a dispenser according to FIGS. 2-4 inclusive to have moved re'arwardly from thering pocket 24, such a plierstype retaining ring assembly tool as just described may be employed to pick up the lowermost ring of the stack then positioned in the ring pocket 24 thereof simply by moving the tool with its arms spread into a position such that the tool spreading head 34 is disposed slightly above the ring pocket, the ring push-head 33 being meantime accommodated in the front-face cut out'26 provided therefor in the dispenser base 10, and thereupon pressing the spreading head downwardly into gripping engagement with the inner edge of the pocketed ring. The movable mounting of the stack rod 18 as described above of course makes this desirable pick-up operation possible.

According to another feature of the invention, retracting movement of the stack rod 18 and its supply of the rings to be assembled to the rearward or inactive position as aforesaid is effected by the movement of the tool T into its aforesaid ring pick-up position. Such may be simply achieved by attaching to the bracket 15, just fortioned so as to be capable of guiding the tool T toward the stack rod and at the same time receive the thrust of the spreading head 34 of said tool upon the latter moving to ring pick-up position aforesaid. That is to say, during the initial movement of the spreading head 34 to pick-up position, it engages against the guide head 36, whereupon tool thrust is utilized to actuate the stack rod and its supply of retaining rings to the retracted position. Upon the tool picking up the ring from the dispenser pocket 24 and withdrawing same bodily from the dispenser, the aforesaid spring 20, which has been extended by movement of the stack rod to .its retracted position, releases its energy in returning the stack rod to its normal operative position. Such results in the now lowermost ring of the column thereof 'on the stack rod dropping into the ring pocket 24 of the dispenser base, thus conditioning the dispenser for the next ring-dispensing operation.

As indicated in FIG. 7, it is also possible to operate the aforesaid dispenser in the described manner by' means of the more conventional pliers-type ring withdrawing and applying tool Ta shown in FIG. 7. As is well known, such a tool is provided with working points a and b which are angularly bent out of the plane of the working tips or ends of the tool arms proper and are designed to be inserted into the apertures of the ears with which the free ends of split spring retaining rings of the type under consideration are usually formed. Obviously, this form of pliers-type tool can be engaged with a ring to be assembled for pick-up purposes only by movement of its working points against a face of the ring, generally as with the pliers-type tool illustrated in FIG. 1, for example. The dispenser as described is suited to being operated by the pliers-type tool shown in FIG. 7 equally as with the tool T of FIG. 1, since the working points a, b thereof may be simply thrust against the bracket 15 with enough force to effect retraction of the stack rod 18 as a whole together with its supply of rings rearwardly away from the ring then contained in the ring pocket 24, whereupon the working points of the tool may be pressed into the ring-end apertures and the ring withdrawn in well known manner. Consequent' to this Withdrawal, the retr cted stack rod 18 and column of rings thereon moves back to its normal position and, in partaking of this movement, drops a ring from the stack into the ring pocket, thus conditioning the tool for the next ring-withdrawing operation.

Referring to FIGS. 8-10, illustrative of another form of movable stack-rod dispenser according to the invention, characterized in that its stack rod is mounted to bodily retract by swinging about a horizontal axis rather than about :a vertical axis as in the prior described modification, reference numeral 40 designates an upright bracket having a foot flange 40a which is preferably afiixed to the dispenser base 41 as by screws 42, 43. Hingedly connected to the upper end of such bracket as by a horizontally disposed and transversely extending pivot pin or rivet 44 is a downwardly extending arm 45, which is thus adapted to swing in a vertical fore and aft plane with respect to the base 41. As best seen in FIG. 9, the arm 45 is shaped as a U and is arranged so that its bottom or cross wall 46 is forwardly disposed and a side flange 47 thereof extends rearwardly, to which latter is secured as by screws 48, 48a, 48b a vertically disposed thin blade 49 which mounts the stack rod 50, similarly to the way that the blade 17 of the prior described dispenser mounts the stack rod 18 thereof. As with the aforesaid blade 17, the thin blade 49 of the present dispenser form is accom modated in the gaps of the rings R threaded on to the stack rod 50 and hence serves the very important purpose of maintaining the stack of rings carried by the stack rod in exact alignment and with their gaps facing or opening in forward direction.

Preferably there is secured to the top face of the base 41 below the stack rod 50 a fiat, smoothsurfaced plate 51 having thickness corresponding to the axial thickness of one of the rings R, and formed in said plate is a recess 52 shaped to the general outer-edge configuration of a ring R and being disposed immediately below the stack rod in the Vertical or active position of the latter to which it is biased by a spring 53, said recess thus providing an upwardly opening ring pocket for the lowermost ring of the stack. Below said pocket, the base 41 is provided with a cut-out 54 which is shown to be closed at its bottom end and in communication at its upper end with the ring pocket, whereby it may accommodate a part or parts of a ring withdrawing and applying tool Tb of the type partially shown in FIG. 10.

lllustratively, such tool Tb is of the advanced type of ring-handling pliers which is disclosed and claimed in my application Serial No. 19,207, filed April 1, 1-960, being characterized principally by a ring spreading mandrel comprising separable tip members 130, 131, which normally has diameter slightly less than that of the ring opening whereby it may be more or less freely inserted into said opening preliminary to gripping a ring along its inner edge and thereupon spreading said ring by spreading of its tip members, and a generally annular push-head 132 adapted to push the spread ring axially from the mandrel on to and over the end of a shaft to the plane of the groove thereof in which it is to be assembled. It will of course be understood that the form of dispenser under discussion is not limited to operation by a pliers-type ring withdrawing and applying tool as just described since a dispenser according to the invention may be operated by practically any type of hand tool which grips a ring by movement of one or more of its tool parts against a face of the ring, as distinguished from gripping said ring along its outer edge.

The operation of a dispenser according to FIGS. 8-10 inclusive is quite similar to that of the previously described dispenser. More particularly, to Withdraw a ring, the tool Tb is moved or thrust rearwardly against the ring stack, such causing the lower end of the stack rod 50 to swing bodily rearwardly about the axis of pivot pin 44. Such renders the lowermost ring R of the stack, which has previously dropped into the ring pocket provided by the recess 52, accessible to the tool Tb and thereupon the mandrel 130, 131 thereof is lowered in the opening of said pocketed ring, following which it is spread to grip the ring about its inner and/ or gap edges. After the tool has picked up the ring and consequent to its being withdrawn from engagement with the stack rod 50 and/or rings stacked thereon, the stack rod returns to its active position under the bias of the aforesaid spring 53.

According to the further embodiment of movable stackrod dispenser illustrated in 'FIGS. 11-13 inclusive, an upright stack-rod mounting bracket extends upwardly 'from a base 61 and is afi'lxed as by screws 62, 62a passing through its foot flange 60a to a slide 63 of dove-tail cross section which is slidable rearwardly and forwardly in a correspondingly shaped, upwardly opening slideway 64 sunk into the upper face of said base, said slide being movable rearwardly against the bias of a spring 65 and being returnable to its normal or active position by said spring. The upper portion of the bracket 60 is preferably formed to U-shape and to the free vertical flange 67 thereof is aflixed a thin blade 68 which carries a rigid stack rod 69, all as previously described in connection with the priorembodiments. When a pliers-type hand tool Tb, which illustratively is the same tool shown in FIG. 10, is thrust against the stack rod, the latter together with the slide 64 moves bodily in rearward direction, thus to render the lowermost ring of the stack then disposed in a ring pocket 70 (corresponding to the afore-described pocket 52 of the FIGS. 8-11 embodiment) accessible to the tool. When said ring has been picked up, the tool is backed away from the stack rod, whereupon the latter returns to its forwardmost or active position under the urge of the spring 65.

While each of the different structural forms of movable stack-rod type of retaining ring dispenser which have been described and illustrated herein satisfies the objectives of the invention as explained in the foregoing in fully effective and dependable manner, it is to be under stood that numerous changes can be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, and it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in .a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A Retaining ring dispense-r for'split retaining rings comprising, in combination, a base, a rigid stack rod mounted on and extending substantially normally from said base for disposing a supply of spring retaining rings to be dispensed in column formation thereon, a pocket in said base for receiving and holding the endmost ring of the column lowering thereinto from the stack rod in withdrawal-readiness position, means responsive to movement of a ring pickup and withdrawal tool against the lower end of the ring column :and/ or stack rod for moving the stack rod as a whole bodily away from said end most ring contained insaid pocket by an amount exposing substantially the entire relatively upwardly disposed face of said ring to the action of the tool, and means for efiecting return movement of the stack rod to its initial position.

2. A retaining ring dispenser substantially as defined in Claim 1, wherein said stack rod has a normal position in which it is aligned axially with the pocket but is mounted so as to'be movable bodily to a retracted position in which it is non-aligned with said pocket and thereby renders the pocketed ring accessible to the ring pickup and withdrawing tool as aforesaid,

3. A retaining ring dispenser for split retaining rings L comprising-in combination, a base, a rigidstack rod extending substantially normal from said base for disposing a supply of retaining rings to be dispensed'in column formation thereon, a pocket in said base for receiving and holding the endmost ring of the column lowering thereinto from the stock rod in withdrawal-readiness posi tion, means mounting said stack rod in such manner that it is normally axially aligned with said pocket but is bodily movable "as'a whole to a non-aligned position with respect to the pocket in which it exposes substantially the entire relatively upwardly disposed face of said endmostring to the action of a ring pick-up tool of a type depending for its action on its ability to move againsta face of a ring, and means for effecting return movement of the stack rod to its normal position following each ring pickup operation.

'4. A retaining ring dispenser substantially as defined in claim 3, wherein said stack-rod mounting means provides for bodily swinging movement of said stack red as a whole about an axis extending parallel to that of the stack rod. 5. A retaining ring dispenser substantially as defined in claim 3, wherein said stack-rod mounting means provides for bodily swinging movement of said stack rod as a whole about an axis extending transversely of the stock rod.

6. Aretaining ring dispenser substantially as defined in claim 3, wherein said stack-rod mounting means includes a slide operating in a fore-and-aft extending slideway formed in the top 'face of the base, to which said stack rod is aflixed for bodily movement as a whole therewith.

7. A retaining ring dispenser substantially as defined in claim 3, wherein said stack-rod mounting means comprises an upright bracket having an edge part to which the stack rod is afixed, and pivot means providing for pivotal movement of the bracket and thereby the stack rod as a whole with respect to the base.

8. A retaining ring dispenser substantially as defined in claim 7, wherein the pivot means is operative between the bracket and the base.

9. A. retaining ring dispenser substantially as defined in claim 3, wherein said pocket comprises an upwardly opening recess sunk into the upper face of the base and being configured substantially complementally to the outer-edge configuration of the rings of thecolumn there or.

10. A retaining ring dispenser substantially as defined in claim 3, wherein a. plate member is aflixed to the top face of the base intermediate said face and-the stack rod, said plate member having thickness corresponding to that of one of said rings and being provided with an opening which is configured substantially complementally to the outer-edge configuration of the rings of the column thereof and which defines said pocket.

11. The combination of a dispenser for maintaining a supply of split spring retaining rings and a tool for withdrawing and assembling said rings one by one, said dispenser comprising a base, a rigid stack rod extending substantially normally upwardly from the base for disposing the supply of rings in column formation on said base, and a pocket in said base for receiving the endmost ring of said columnlowering thereinto from said stack rod and positioning same in withdrawal-readiness position, said tool incorporating ring pick-up means which depends for its action on its ability to move against a face of a ring, and means mounting said stack rod for bodily retracting movement to an out-of-the-way position in which it exposes substantially the entire relatively upwardly disposed face of said ring to said tool responsively to thrust of a part of said tool against its lowerend, thereby to render said endmost ring positioned in the ring pocket'accessible to said pick-up means.

12. The dispenser-tool combination defined in claim 11, wherein said stack-rod mounting means mounts said stack rod for bodily swinging movementabout an axis disposed parallel to its own axis.

13. The dispenser-tool combination defined in claim 11,'wherein said stack-rod mounting means mounts said stack rod for bodily swinging movement about an axis extending transversely thereof. r 7

14. The dispenser-tool combination defined in claim 11, wherein said stack-rod mounting means comprises coacting slide and slideway means on said base enabling the stack rod to slide rearwardly and forwardly thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,244,094 Johnson Oct. 23, 1918 2,701,722 Bone Feb. 8, 1955 2,840,892 Erdmann July 1, 1958 2,870,529 Erdmann Jan. 27, 1959 2,895,214 Erdmann July 21 ,1959' 2,900,107 Erdmann Aug. 18, 1959 2,930,114 Erdmann Mar.'29, 1960 2,985,295 Erdmann May 23, 196 1 FOREIGN PATENTS 523,365 Belgium Oct. 31, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES German application 1,004,140, printed March 14, 1957 (K1. 11e). 

11. THE COMBINATION OF A DISPENSER FOR MAINTAINING A SUPPLY OF SPLIT SPRING RETAINING RINGS AND A TOOL FOR WITHDRAWING AND ASSEMBLING SAID RINGS ONE BY ONE, SAID DISPENSER COMPRISING A BASE, A RIGID STACK ROD EXTENDING SUUBSTANTIALLY NORMALLY UPWARDLY FROM THE BASE FOR DISPOSING THE SUPPLY OF RING S IN COLUMN FORMATION ON SAID BASE, AND A POCKET IN SAID BASE FOR RECEIVING THE ENDMOST RING OF SAID COLUMN LOWERING THEREINTO FROM SAID STACK ROD AND POSITIONING SAME IN WITHDRAWAL-READINESS POSITION, SAID TOOL INCORPORATING RING PICK-UP MNEANS WHICH DEPENDS FOR ITS ACTION ON ITS ABILITY TO MOVE AGAINST A FACE OF A RING, AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID STACK ROD FOR BODILY RETRACTING MOVEMENT TO AN OUT-OF-THE-WAY POSITION IN WHICH IT EXPOSES SUBSTANTIALLY THE ENTIRE RELATIVELY UPWARDLY DISPOSED FACE OF SAID RING TO SAID TOOL RESPONSIVELY TO THRUST OF A PART OF SAID TOOL AGAINST ITS LOWER END, THEREBY TO RENDER SAID ENDMOST RING POSITIONED IN THE RING POCKET ACCESSIBLE TO SAID PICK-UP MEANS. 